in cranberry, free. or a white 7-inch samsung galaxy tab 2, just $99.99. this friday, get the best deals on the best devices on the best network. exclusively at verizon. happy thanksgiving, everyone. i'm alex witt. coming up this hour, shopping lines or picket lines. thousands of walmart employees plan to strike just as the holiday retail season kicks off. coming up, one woman who is ready to trade in her $8.90 an hour for a picket line. the 86th annual thanksgiving day parade, there's new balloons joining the fleet. live along the parade route with about 3 million other people out there. and celebrations continue in gaza, as the hamas-israeli cease-fire holds.

how long will the hold last. our top story this hour, what everyone wants to know about, the weather. millions of people are going to be hitting the roads, the runways and the malls over the next 72 hours, so what can we expect out there from mother nature. we've got the latest information. so what say you, bill? >> the afternoon football game, very important, too. the after-dinner trump, everybody's rolling around. today, a lot better than yesterday. yesterday we had the horrible fog in chicago and st. louis. the only spot i heard the fog was really bad this morning is right around detroit. these are the pictures yesterday in chicago. pretty picturesque, sunrise there, the clouds coming off lake michigan. normally you would be looking at a bustling city, but yesterday morning you could only see a little bit. that's what the airline pilots are trying to deal with. that's why there were so many people, so many flights delayed and canceled. today, the only issue is really temperatures. this is about an a-plus day.

record highs today in areas up towards missouri and arkansas, also possibly up towards iowa. then the cold air is going to plunge down. it was very warm this morning in the midwest, but the cold air is invading through montana and north dakota later today. snow would be up in north dakota in canada. winter weather advisories. where's the cold air? it's almost december, all the way up there in canada. it is going to plunge to south in the next couple of days. we're actually very nice out there today, in billings, and minneapolis. but then tomorrow is when the changes will occur. everyone on the east coast you get two really nice days. the west coast not looking at many issues whatsoever. and there's a little hint of things to come. really enjoy the warmth today in chicago, st. louis and kansas city. tomorrow, much colder for your friday shopping, or maybe your relaxation day there in the midwest. overall, alex, i think today gets about an "a" out of an

a-plus. couldn't ask for much better for people traveling today. >> it looks gorgeous out there. might be a cloud somewhere. like in iowa. >> then i'm done, right? always stog strive for. now to the crisis in the middle east, the cease-fire between israel and hamas. >> united states welcomes the agreement today for a cease-fire in gaza. for it to hold, the rocket attacks must end, a broader, calm return. the people of this region deserve the chance to live free from fear and violence, and today's agreement is a step in the right direction that we should build on. >> kristen is at the white house for us. happy thanksgiving to you. what are you hearing from the white house on this cease-fire?

>> happy thanksgiving, alex. the white house is encouraged by this cease-fire, as you point out. it is a diplomatic success for president obama, for secretary of state hillary clinton. but they are also viewing this cease-fire very cautiously. they know it is fragile so they're keeping that in mind as they continue to monitor the situation. president obama spent part of his day yesterday reaching out to leaders in the region, thanking them for making this cease-fire possible. called egyptian president mahmoud morsi, and benjamin netanyahu. president obama reiterated the united states believes israel has the right to defend itself. also said the united states would take this moment to work towards helping israel to further secure the region. but also talked about the importance of trying to achieve a broader security agreement in the region. and in speaking to egyptian president mahmoud morsi, president obama really thanked him for playing such a pivotal

role. the white house saying that is one of the big things that came out of the past several days, alex. that president obama and egyptian president mahmoud morsi spent a lot of time talking on the phone. by some accounts they had six conversations in several details. and through those conversations, president obama and president morsi really strengthened their relationship. there was a question surrounding president morsi in part because of his ties to the muslim brotherhood, and feld morsi was pragmatic and they were on the same page in wanting to broker a cease-fire. that could have implications moving forward as this administration tries to secure that region, and potentially open up peace talks in the future. so the white house today certainly hailing this cease-fire and hoping that it holds. alex? >> kristen, before i let you go, the president's plans for today and the holiday with the family are what? >> reporter: well, i don't think

we're going to see very much of him, alex. he's having a quiet thanksgiving. he will be celebrating it with the first family, with close friends. they will have a large spread, i am sure. turkey, ham, all the fixings. several desserts, which i'm getting hungry just thinking about. but the president also released his weekly address today. thanking americans, or actually wishing them a happy thanksgiving. talking about the importance of coming together in the wake of the election. also, thanking the troops for their service. and he reminded americans that there are some folks who are suffering in the wake of hurricane sandy. take a listen to a little bit more of what the president had to say. >> it will be a long time before life gets back to normal for them. but in the midst of so much tragedy, there are also glimmers of hope. over the past few weeks we've seen fema personnel and national guard and first responders working around the clock in hard-hit communities. >> now, yesterday, alex, much

lighter note. president obama pardoned the official thanksgiving turkey. cobbler and his alternate gobbler, who will live out the rest of their days in mount vernon. two lucky birds. president obama and the first daughters also went to a local food bank to serve the folks there who are in need on this thanksgiving holiday. >> thoughtful gesture on both fronts. kristen, thank you so much. let's get back to the political cease-fire with our panel. hello, guys, glad you're here. happy thanksgiving. >> good morning. >> things look good right now, 24 hours in. but how tenuous is this peace? >> it is an agreement, a one-page understanding between the two parties brokered by the united states and egypt. however, you saw the exiled leader of hamas say that as long as egypt abides by this agreement, we will, too. but if they don't, our finger is on the trigger, and you have seen palestinian terrorists in

the past defy agreements like this. so it is very fragile at this point. >> one of those splinter groups. and listen, even hillary clinton has cautioned this is not over yet. let's listen. >> every step must move us toward a comprehensive peace for all the people of the region. there is no substitute for a just and lasting peace. >> jonathan, do you think the president's going to make a long-term peaceful resolution part of his second term goals? >> well, you know, he may try to do that. i tend to be a pessimist. but that's likely to happen. having seen so many failed attempts in the past. one of the really interesting things about this is, of course, the agreement is tenuous, but there's also a lot of talk from experts about the role of iran, in potentially supplying the rockets to hamas. and that could play an

interesting role in whether israel decides to launch an attack on the nuclear facilities in iran. we not only have the tenuous agreement, but we could potentially have a major outbreak of escalation in the middle east in a broader sense. >> this cease-fire, it also really cemented the new relationship between the united states and the new egyptian president, mahmoud morsi. "the new york times" is reporting that morsi and the president spoke three times in one day, six times over a couple days. and the president told aides he was impressed with the leader's pragmatic confidence. so do you think, andy, this relationship can make a difference in the region? >> without a doubt. egypt is a linchpin for trying to achieve some kind of lasting peace in the middle east. when president mahmoud morsi was elected in june, coming out of the muslim brotherhood party, there were a lot of concerns in the u.s. about the direction of egypt as an ally, whether they would be a reliable partner in

the kinds of negotiations that we just saw this past week. morsi seems to have walked a very fine line, but so far succeeded. on the one hand he acted as a proxy for hamas in the peace talks with the united states, and on the other hand. he -- egypt and morsi stood by their 30-year peace agreement with israel, and it's a balancing account for president morsi. and president obama praised him for being pragmatic and helping to get this deal done. >> actually, i have to go real quick. but jonathan, you said you were a bit pessimistic about israel and gaza, figuring it out. do you think this is a good start? >> this is actually like a really surprisingly good sign that he would be the -- play this role. just to underscore this, he hasn't named israel -- he hasn't referred to it by name since he took office. >> andy kroll, jonathan strong,

thanks for coming in. appreciate it. >> thank you. the timing could not be worse for walmart. thousands of union-backed workers are threatening to walk off the job as the retailer takes off its busiest holiday shopping season. a decision is not expected until tomorrow at the earliest. i'm joined by colby harris, a walmart employee in texas, with a group making a change at walmart. colby, welcome and happy thanksgiving. why are you protesting? >> we're protesting because walmart has continuously retaliated against those of us who choose to speak up for all the things that go wrong inside of our jobs, as far as treatment of associates. >> when you say they're retaliating, what have they done? >> for me personally, they've spied on me, they give me extra assignments, they try to keep me away from other associates so i can't interact with them and let them know what's going on, and

what they can do to make the change. >> what does this mean for you? could you walk off the job? do you fear you would lose your job if you walk off? you're talking to me on national television, colby. >> well, a lot of us absolutely have no fear. and if you have fear, you can't get what needs to be done. i have no fear for losing my job, i do not. >> okay. your response to a statement from walmart, okay? i'm going to read it. our stores will be operating normally on black friday, and our customers will see nothing unusual when they shop. and the response to the complaints from protesters, walmart saying is, our pay and benefits plans are as good or better than our retail competitors, including those that are unionized. what is your reaction to those statements? >> as someone who's worked there for three years, and i've talked to associates who have been there 20, 25 years, that

couldn't be further from the truth. there will be some things that customers will see that will be dramatically different starting today. that's not true. our health care plans are actually going up next year, and for me personally they're already unaffordable. so i'm not sure where that statement came from, or what it is to tell the customers that, but that couldn't be any further from the truth. >> colby harris, i admire your coming in and talking about this. and i hope it doesn't come at the rirvg of losing your job. thanks for joining us. >> thank you, i appreciate it. here's one i haven't heard before. could christmas actually be bad for the economy? d? on black friday, it doesn't matter, as long as we end up here at 5 a.m., or at homedepot.com, starting thursday. where prices have been cut, chopped, and sanded... on the most powerful tools that cut. ...chop... ...and sand.

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it's being called the

thanksgiving creep. a record number of stores are getting a jump-start on the holiday shopping season by opening their doors tonight. nbc's kevin tibbles is live in chicago for us. he's getting ready to shop till he drops, always ready to do the deed for work. so, what you got there? how bad is it going to be out there today? >> alex, if you think i'm going to be in a mall today, you've got me confused with the other 83 million kevin tibbless who aren't in the phone book. but it is thanksgiving. happy thanksgiving to everyone. for those of you who do have that sort of deal bug, well, the stores are going to be opening, not on black friday, because black friday has been moved a little ahead to black thursday, all happening tonight earlier than ever. hurry up and wrap those turkey leftovers tonight, the holiday shopping season is off to its earliest start ever this year. >> sears black friday door busters.

>> black friday's back. friday start thursday at 8:00 p.m. >> reporter: walmart, sears, toys "r" us and kmart are unwrapping their door buster deals as early as tonight on thanksgiving. >> they've tested their doors on thanksgiving night. the test results have been positive both for the consumers and retailers. >> reporter: positive is right. the longer the holiday shopping season is, the more people spend. and thanksgiving is a big one for retailers who expect to make up to 30% of their holiday sales just this weekend alone. with your hard-earned dollars at stake, no store wants to be left out. >> it's important for retailers to make sure that they're in the game, too. and if walmart opens early, then it will be hard for its competitors to sit on the sidelines. >> reporter: now, there is one store, nordstrom's, that it says it doesn't mind being on the sidelines today. in fact, it's advertising the fact that it is not open today.

and it's urging everyone, and telling everyone it's not going to be putting up its christmas decorations until after thanksgiving. anyway, alex, happy thanksgiving to you. >> and to you. i think nordstrom's may be striking the right tone. i think that's good stuff. >> reporter: there's something for everyone in there. >> true. i appreciate it. kevin tibbles, happy thanksgiving. black friday weekend can account for up to 40% of a retailer's annual sales. but is there a better way. our next guest poses a question, is christmas bad for the economy. i'm joined by derrick thompson, senior editor of "the atlantic." thanks for joining us. this question almost seems gl s blasphemous to some. >> at this time of year half a trillion dollars of retail

happens, it's hard to believe it would be bad for the economy. if you lop off the half half of december, would we spend more by giving people one. if we spread our purchases across the year and didn't force these years to stock up so egregiously in one six-week perld. >> well, okay. i guess that's true. people have that sort of temperance to be able to spread it out through the year. gift giving, would that benefit the economy if it was minimized this time of year do you think? >> there's this thing in the economic paper that calls the dead weight loss of christmas. what it essentially said is for every $10 of presents that we buy for our friends and family, they only value it at about $7. what's the most efficient way to give people what they want. it turns out to be cash. cash isn't very sentimental, so it makes more sense to not try to cram all of this spending

potentially in one six-week period. but rather to buy people what we think they want on their birthdays, other holidays, to spread it across the year. economists said that would be the more efficient and better way to do spending. >> that would be, if it were so. but since this is no economist's idea of a holiday, you still have to look at it nonetheless which means it's still very important to the economy at this point. >> oh, absolutely. especially when you're in a weak economy like we are right now. what's important actually isn't efficiency, it's activity. so in a weird way, the fact that christmas this time of the year isn't the most efficient way to spend on goods, it's actually good for a weak economy, because spending inefficiently means spending more. right now what we need is more economic activity, for people to dig a little deeper into their pockets to help the economy move along. >> do you think this gift giving frenzy tradition will change in our lifetime, or do you think despite everything you're saying, eric, it's an uphill battle? >> i don't think it's going to

change. i think the best way to think about this really is this time of the year, spending is like an ugly winter sweater. it's ugly when you see people playing tug-of-war over a gift. but it gets the job done. and i think that we're talking about $500 billion of spending that's happening over the next six weeks. that's going to be good for the economy. we'll wait to see in january whether people sort of, you know, pull back a little bit. but in general, i think it is safe to say even if christmas isn't the most efficient way to do spending, it still gets the job done. >> but the ugly part i think we'll have video on the show tomorrow that will exactly reiterate what you're saying. happy thanksgiving. some americans are going to the movies after the turkey is finished.

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it's the big draw at the box office and looking to make bigger bucks this holiday weekend. check it out. >> the packs will fight. we've never been afraid of vampires. >> we will fight. >> this won't be the first time the kings rule. we'll join you. >> we will stand with you. >> so will we. >> okay. >> i'm with you, alex. >> you'll sit with me across the table. okay. this one, it's making so much money. >> worldwide it's already made $362 million. >> that's why they broke the glass bowl. >> because they can. forbidden love among the undead is very popular with the tween set. and apparently you, because you saw it as well. >> i did like it. i thought it was entertaining. but i think it could have been

put together with the first one. kristen stewart looked fabulous. you're supposed to look better as a vampire. she was gorgeous. let's talk about another one, though, lincoln, which is phenomenal. it put me in tears. >> this is the anti-blockbuster, at least initially. but it's going to be the one with all the oscar buzz. daniel day lewis, if you've seen the trailer, you can see it online, remarkable. sally field as his wife. and she fought for that role. she had gotten that role ten years ago with steven spielberg, but she thought she had aged out. i think she's fantastic. >> i think she's fantastic. i can't imagine anyone coming up to daniel day-lewis with best actor. he has defined lincoln for the angs. >> although we'll see anthony hopkins as alfred hitchcock soon. but that's another story. >> let's talk about another one getting a lot of buzz which is silver lining's playbook. here's a clip. >> i'm tired. i want to go.

>> no, no, no. we haven't even finished the salad yet. or the duck. i made the fire and ice cake. >> i said i'm tired. are you going to walk me home or what? >> you mean me? >> yeah, you. are you going to walk me home? >> you better be a gentleman. >> i know, bradley cooper and jennifer lawrence, two people who are really hot right now. this is one of the film festival movies that debuted in the fall. it already got big buzz for being an oscar contender, but also a great story. complicated guy, bradley cooper, who lost his wife to another guy and he went to a mental institution. now he's all troubled, as you might be. jennifer lawrence has her troubles. an interesting love story. >> i thought it was really good, too. very, very good movie. i haven't seen this one, but i'm such a fan of the books. >> this is the prequel to the "lord of the rings" trilogy. if you are a fan of these movies, you know what the plot is.

you don't care. but it's one of those things, cult following. the people who are fans of these films, this is searching for a treasure that was stolen, hobbits and elves and such. they've been talking about the cast are for years. another one of those triple-digit box office takes. december 14th it opens. >> and talk about the box office take. >> this is going to be a big one, too, i think we'll be talking oscars with this one, too. it opens december 25th. russell crowe, hathaway, hugh jackman. you know what's interesting, they actually sing in realtime in this film. they don't have the orchestra behind them. they don't sound that auto studio perfection. but that's going to add to the rawness of this film. this is not a pretty movie, it's a striking, dramatic, intense movie. >> i can't wait to see that. brian, thanks for sitting across from me. glad to see you. coming up here this

thanksgiving morning, the balloons are ready to fly. the annual macy's day parade kicks off in a half an hour with a new cast of characters. and speaking of characters, washington's on break for the holiday, but the debt talks continue. you won't find a "home rule" on every corner, a "stag provisions" down every block, or a "hugh and crye" in every town. these are the small businesses of america, and all across the nation they're getting ready for their day. hundreds of thousands of small businesses

are preparing for november 24, a day to open doors, and welcome the millions of customers who will turn out to shop small. small business saturday. visit shopsmall.com and get ready. because your day is coming.

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if you're just waking up, happy thanksgiving to you. here's some of the stories making headlines. a new study claims mammograms may be leading to women being incorrectly diagnosed with breast cancer in the last 30 years. it cast skepticism on the effectiveness of the tests. the journal found one-third of the women would not have developed the full-blown disease had it gone untreated. congressman jesse jackson jr. has resigned. in a letter to house speaker john boehner, jackson cited his ongoing treatment for bipolar

disorder, and admitted to, quote, my share of mistakes. there's a house committee investigation into his dealings with rod blagojevich and a probe into possible misuse of campaign money. the violence in syria continues today. at least 40 people were killed in the town of aleppo. this is not the first time this hospital has been shut. earlier this year an artillery shell hit a maternity ward. secretary clinton and president obama and mahmoud morsi brokeringed a cease-fire. no sirens, have you heard any? >> reporter: no, that's right, alex, all quiet, no sirens here. there were a couple earlier in the day in the south. they turned out to be false alarms. the cease-fire went into effect 9:00 last night local time, which is about 18 hours ago.

so it's a hopeful sign. of course, it's early days yet. when the cease-fire was announced yesterday, the palestinians in gaza were ecstatic. there was celebration, thousands of people in the streets firing guns into the air for celebration. in tel aviv last night and today, there's no sense here that anything to celebrate, more skepticism about the cease-fire. they believe the cease-fire will be recognized as an enforce. he also said he doesn't believe in past experience that it will be very long-term. that's the issue here. how long will it last. so the -- in the development now is that the israeli army has given orders for the reserves, 30,000 of whom were called up for a possible ground invasion of gaza to begin to return home. the first reserve being asked to return home. schools, however, still empty in the south of israel. they were all closed for a week. those within 40 kilometers of gaza, in case of rockets.

and they're still closed while israel is looking at this cease-fire to see whether indeed it will be enforced. it's not only israel, the egyptian government, the u.s., everyone has invested in keeping the peace. but the peace that has been agreed so far between israel and hamas, is just peace -- let me put it this way, quiet for quiet. a lot still needs to are worked out to make sure that the cease-fire holds, alex. >> okay. martin fletcher, thank you very much, live for us from tel aviv. a stern warning from one of the nation's top ceos, to lawmakers about the fiscal cliff. ceo of goldman sachs says what's in this deal is less important than just getting a deal done. >> going over the fiscal cliff, it will be very bad, hugely negative for the stock market, which is, you know, a source of people's wealth. people will feel poor.

if we go over for a short period of time and adjust it, we can repair some of those things. but what you won't repair is people's attitudes towards the united states as a responsible debtor. >> washington playing with fire? >> yes. yes, washington is playing with fire. and you don't get -- it's not like a football game when you get the two-minute warning. they don't tell you when you have -- you only get one more chance. >> let's bring in robert, republican strategist and richa richard, a strategist. good morning to you, guys. he said if the retirement age goes up, it is secondary to getting an actual deal. so what does that say? i'll give that to you, richard, first. >> look, business leaders have actually been very strong in a balanced approach. some revenue, some entitlement

cuts. i think what you're hearing from mr. blankfine is kind of a support you were getting in a fix the debt effort by over 100 ceos across the country. so that's important. but he's touching on things like, for example, increase in the social security retirement age. easy for him to say. his income was over $16 million last year. somebody who makes money off their labor, who doesn't have the increased life expectancy, someone at the upper end might experience. somebody who doesn't have the wealth that mr. blankfine does. it's not something to trifle with. it's easy to put ideas like that out there. on the other hand, good for him. it suggests increasing rates is something that business leaders would accept. that's what the president has put on the table. i think we're not getting off to a great start in terms of what we're hearing from the republicans. but we'll see. >> okay. so right now, robert, politico's headline, rough start for fiscal

cliff talks. this piece is suggesting staffers aren't having an easy time with this. is it looking more like we're going to have one of these two-part solutions, kind of like where wheef been before, that somehow they're going to punt partly again? >> possibly. it looks that way. it looks like perhaps there's going to be a band-aid right now to get us through the end of the year, beginning of next year, and then actual -- a real substantive conversation when the next congress gets sworn in. or, this could well be we're seeing the sausage made here where both sides are in deep negotiations where they're really sticking to their ground here, but knowing there's going to be wiggle room back and forth. you put your hand out there first, strong hand, knowing there's a little bit of wiggle room. i think what we're seeing is the sausage -- i hope that we're seeing is the sausage being made here, and they're closer to what they really want to put out there. they're doing that, because both sides have so much at stake, that they want to make sure that both sides, they come across as

not caving. >> both sides are speaking out. one is revenue, how to get that. let's play something that republican tom cole said yesterday. >> pretty important as to how you get that revenue. i was disappointed to see leader pelosi say it had to be higher rates or nothing. i don't think that's how you begin a negotiation. >> what about the possibility of keeping the same rates but eliminating the deductions for the wealthy? >> i think that's a very good potential suggestion. >> richard, without raising rates, would there be enough revenue there? >> it seems like every independent economist says, certainly simpson bowles did and all these bipartisan commissions said that there has to be an increase in rates. and look, either we're talking economics or religion. if you look at economics, under the clinton administration, we did see an increase in rates. what did we see, the most robust economic growth that anybody can

remember. religion says if we somehow increase rates, that will be the end of civilization as we know it. again, you have mr. blankfine saying as the ceo of a big enterprise, goldman sachs, no, we can live with increased rates. robert, i hope it's right we're just looking at opening bids here. but if the republicans stick to their guns on this issue, go back and look at your interviews over the past year, alex, the republicans said let the voters decide. they did. the democrats won the white house and picked up seats in the house and the senate. i think that should be some reason to think that moving off this business about not increasing rates is yesterday's news. >> the subtitle for an atlantic article, robert, i think says everything, americans want a deal that reduces taxes on the wealthy and doesn't cut entitlements, but most of all they want compromise. is this going to be one of these

11th-hour deals or two-parter? how do you see this playing out? >> i think it's going to be a two-parter, alex. but something that you said there is fundamentally wrong, americans do not want any entitlement reform. and any type of fiscal deal, you have to have some type of entitlement reform. i know it's painful to have that conversation, but that's what's putting us in this fiscal mess. if you don't tackle that, the big entitlement issues, we're going to continue to have this problem for generations to come. >> okay. richard and robert, thank you so much. >> sure, alex. >> have a happy thanksgiving. a military thanksgiving in afghanistan. certainly a long way from home, but our troops are feasting on 78,000 pounds of turkey, sweet potatoes and pie. we take a seat at the table after the break.

we celebrate the holiday here at home, there are thousands of brave american service members overseas

spending their thanksgiving together. we have a report from kabul. >> reporter: it's thanksgiving in afghanistan, and these u.s. service members are celebrating with some football and the new york jets, who have donated jerseys for this ultimate football tournament. each jersey has a number 12 on it, signifying the 12th man, letting these service members know that their sacrifices have not been forgotten. >> happy thanksgiving. >> out here in the army, coming and doing an event like this in afghanistan, you're around your military family. >> thanksgiving day, for years i've been playing football in the morning and watching football in the afternoon. that's what this is all about today here in afghanistan with all the u.s. service members being here. >> happy thanks giving. >> happy thanksgiving, alexandria, virginia. >> happy thanksgiving, chicago. >> happy thanks giving to my wife. i love you! >> kabul, afghanistan! >> happy thanksgiving!

woo! >> reporter: football aside, this is where the real thanksgiving takes place, the part with the food at this dining facility. 98 men have been working really hard to bring all the trimmings to more than 2,000 coalition members, including turkeys, hams, even pumpkin pie. >> i think it's awesome. it blew me away to come in and see everything like this. they like to go big for the holidays, but seeing the carving beef station and sliced turkey, that was cool. >> they decorated is kind of like a firework exploded in here. it's nice. >> is there something you miss from home? >> my family, for sure my family and friends. just being around them. it's a sacrifice we all have to make. if anything, i'm happy to be here with everyone else that's not around their families. >> reporter: all in all, this isn't thanksgiving at mom's, but for these military men and women, they're grateful to be sharing a thanksgiving meal with their military families.

nbc news, kabul. >> good story there. does your kitchen look a little overwhelming right now? if so, no need to wor i. butterball is ready to help you out. they're standing by to answer all your questions. the number is 1-800-butterball. experience is certainly on their side. they've been fielding about 100,000 cooking questions every year for the last three decades. so give them a ring. after the meal starts, the shopping. we'll have a preview of this season's must-have toys. they're here in our studio. we also want to know what you are thankful for this thanksgiving. send us a tweet at #why i'm thankful, and we'll be back right after this. with the spark miles card from capital one, thor gets great rewards for his small business! your boa! [ garth ] thor's small business earns double miles on every purchase, every day! ahh, the new fabrics. put it on my spark card. ow. [ garth ] why settle for less? the spiked heels are working.

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well, the clock is ticking. we now have 33 shopping days until christmas. if the idea of black friday and finding that perfect is giving you anxiety, don't you worry at all u help is here.

we've got great gift ideas for the children in your life. joining me now is laurie from the toy insider.com. it's festive stuff. i love grover. tell me about grover. >> you know what, there's so many great toys this year. i'm going to let grover introduce himself to you. how is that? >> okay. >> hello, everybody. super grover 2.0. >> super grover 2.0. i love him. and he loves it fly. >> oh, my gosh, he's still talk sdplg he knows he's flying. we're engaging our children. >> all right. >> this is good for kids 2 and up. they'll just love him. topping a lot of holiday lists this year are the tablets. one of my favorites for the younger kids is the leap pad 2. it sold out last year. this one has a faster processor, double the memory. still a touch screen. still made for little hands.

it's got a camera on both sides so you can take a picture of yourself or friends. which we love. it's for 3 years old and up. ebooks. art studio. everything in there. we get a lot of inspiration from great movies, like dark knight rises. so this is the you command back pod. i'll put this on the floor. >> okay. watch this guy. this is cool. >> so, not only is this realtime command, so i could actually control it here -- >> and you're pretty good. >> there are pre-programs in it. and yes, i practiced. >> that's great. that looks like that hot item from the movie. >> it is. >> these are based on the popular '80s and '90s teen shows. >> we're going back now 20 years for power rangers. basically we have zords and mega zords. this is the ultimate.

now, as you mentioned, back from the '80s, teenage mutant ninja turtles. the heroes in the half shell are back. this is their shell razor. we can get eight different turtles in here and we have ninja action going on. >> that's cool. that really is. the. >> it is. and over here, i don't know, but do you remember your first cabbage patch? >> i do. >> so do i. cabbage patch babies, they still have the baby powder smell. they come with a pacifier and bottle, and adoption papers that you remember. >> how about these festive dolls? >> la-de-da. introducing you to dee and her friends. these girls all go to fashion school in new york city. they designed their own beautiful fashions. each one comes with a little story about each girl. and in there is also something -- an accessory that the girls can make at home. just some things around the house. really inspiring that creativity.

>> that's a lot of fun. and legos. >> lego introduced the friends line this year. it's fabulous. i love it. we have mia and catherine. it's really all about how girls play with building, with construction. they love to play and display. >> lots of pink. that's perfect. >> and they're riding their horses and taking care of it. i absolutely love this line. it is flying off shelves. >> what about these? >> we love arts and crafts. this is the rcrayola marker airbrush. you can put it on paper, fabric, windows. i'm going to pump this up. it's all air powered and you'll just spray. >> let's see. i can hear it. so it will make -- >> it will make these designs. you also put washable markers in here. if you want to do it on fabric or windows. it washes off. >> you've got to be a little careful?

>> this is about 4 and 5 and up. washable markers. >> this is the big hot seller. >> we have a lot of hot sellers here. the leap pad sold out last year. you'll see the tablets sell out again. grover is already hard to find. the lego friends, incredibly hard to find. i think there's something for everyone at every age. and every budget. >> thank you so much, laurie. thank you for spending part of your thanksgiving with us. everyone coming up, talk about colorful displays, the parade gets started here in new york. the celebrations continue in the middle east. we'll have reports from gaza, tel aviv and kyra after this. so stick around. frank, instead of scratching your way to retirement,

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good morning. happy thanksgiving to all of you. i'm alex witt. fragile peace in the middle